How A 100-Year-Old Company Upholds Its Legacy While Meeting Growing Life Sciences Demand

The life sciences sector has been a bright spot for the commercial real estate industry for the past decade, with demand and inventory rising despite economic challenges. When it comes to creating new life sciences facilities, speed is a must, but equally important is working with companies that understand the unique needs of lab spaces. 

Life sciences facilities have different requirements from traditional office buildings. This is especially true when it comes to their mechanical systems, which need up to 10 times more outside air to be pumped into the building than offices require. Lab plumbing is also more complex than other projects, as the space may require lab waste systems, pure water systems, lab gases, chemical transfer systems and more.

Add to this the fact that continuing supply chain disruptions are making it more difficult for lab users to secure the equipment they need for construction, and it’s clear that now is a tough time for life sciences companies to find the proper spaces they need to grow. 

Heffron, a Maryland-based mechanical and plumbing installation company founded in 1922, understands the unique needs of life sciences facilities and has the experience and connections needed to keep delivering them in today’s complex market. Three decades ago, Heffron made the decision to fully commit to life sciences facilities, and the company has worked on an estimated 70% of the projects in Maryland’s famed biotech corridor on Interstate 270. 

Today, this family-owned company is celebrating 100 years in business while transitioning from the third to fourth generations with Heffron founder Joseph Heffron’s grandson, George Dunn, and his son, Colin Dunn, at the helm. 

“Creating pharmaceutical labs is a very demanding job,” George Dunn said. “This is why we decided to focus primarily on this field, so we can deliver the best quality. We’re not a volume-driven company; we are committed 110% to each project, and we bring a century of our family’s experience and dedication to every facility.” 

Dunn said the company is committed to fostering strong, lasting client relationships. It is these strong relationships with some of the largest life sciences companies in Maryland, paired with the company’s track record of success, that has enabled Heffron to weather everything from the financial crash of 1929 to the Great Recession to the challenges of today. 

When it comes to life sciences, Colin Dunn compared the current market to the space race: Companies are competing to see who can innovate the fastest. When pharmaceutical companies were racing to create the latest coronavirus vaccines, they came to Heffron and asked to have a facility ready in nine months, and the company was able to deliver. 

“Life sciences is constantly evolving, and we strive to ensure each team member that wears Heffron red is adaptable, customer-centric and well-equipped with the skill sets these complex labs now require,” Colin Dunn said. “Our success in laboratory facilities starts even before we step foot on-site. We spend time understanding what the end user is producing or testing in the space. Our team loves being a part of something greater than just the building. From inception, the foreman, field and project team need to understand how this specific site/research facility may be utilized to further science and potentially save lives.”

Colin Dunn said a lab is roughly three to four times more expensive to build than an office building, depending on the end user’s requirements, and it must be flexible and able to accommodate the multiple needs a laboratory requires to produce cutting-edge science.

“Labs must be precise,” he said. “Pharmaceutical companies get audited frequently, and it makes it difficult to create a system that meets the extensive requirements while maintaining targeted costs. We understand these challenges and have become ​​an insurance policy for some of the largest companies in the world that trust us to keep their products safe.”

A lab has “a life and a heartbeat of its own,” George Dunn said, adding that creating these facilities is a team effort between every builder and the owners. Communication and collaboration are crucial to a project’s success. 

“Creating these spaces takes focus, which is why we are dedicated to not becoming the biggest brand out there but the best at what we do,” George Dunn said. “We plan to continue the legacy of the Heffron name and uphold our values of remaining ethical and always doing the right thing.” 

This article was produced in collaboration between Heffron and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.